Friday, December 07, 2007

Whalers send Shepley to Brampton

The Plymouth Whalers today traded 20-year-old defenseman Zack Shepley to the Brampton Battalion in exchange for a third-round draft choice in 2010.

The deal gets Plymouth to the limit of three overage players (1987 birthdays) as required by Ontario Hockey League rules. The Whalers’ other overage players include center Andrew Fournier, right wing Joe McCann and defenseman Wes Cunningham.

Shepley was originally selected by Plymouth in the tenth round (199th overall) of the 2003 OHL Priority Selection. Shepley developed into an excellent stay-at-home defenseman who was an integral part of the Whalers championship team last season. In 176 career regular season games with Plymouth, Shepley scored two goals with 20 assists for 22 points and 165 penalty minutes.

Shepley has not played this season due to an injury, but has resumed skating over the past couple of weeks and is expected to report to the Battalion ready to play. Brampton hosts Niagara tonight and Sudbury on Sunday.

“We appreciate everything Zack did for us,” Plymouth coach-GM Mike Vellucci said. “He was a big part of our championship team last year. By going to Brampton, he has a chance to play close to home.”

Shepley grew up in Oakville, Ontario, and his family lives in nearby Milton, roughly 15 miles away from Brampton.